5 Great “Imported Wines” that will amaze you!

Written by Axel Ritenis, Editor of Connoisseur Magazine

This wine review consists of a selection of Imported  wines (meaning of limited production and not available in Supermarkets or multiples-Some are available from selected  Wine Merchants)  that I officially tasted over the year 2019.

Each of these wines is unique and special so I really wanted to share them with you. There is always something exciting about discovering a sublime or exquisite wine,.. and it literally allows your senses to escape from the mundane and mediocre for a fleeting moment., and rejuvenates your confidence and enthusiasm for the wine world and the amazing winemakers who dedicate their lives to the process of growing grapes and winemaking as an art form.

It also restores ones faith in human creativity in general, and as an essential element of being part of civilized society! Of course, there is an ocean of wine out there,.. but many of them taste similar –they are of similar style and made according to the same template,..which can result in a jaded palate!

In these difficult and unprecedented times,.. it is prudent to share a great vinous experience with a valued friend or cherished partner friend with sufficient intellect, charm, and sophistication,…to appreciate a sublime experience by trying one of these wines!

So, in summary, these are some of the best and most memorable wines that I tasted last year,.. and most of them are under or around  Aus$50.00/30 Euros..…which is not too steep a price,… considering they are all in their own way exquisite wines,.. and each wine offers a unique story and experience for wine aficionados and connoisseurs alike!

They are all available on the Internet or on the various E-commerce sites that are detailed at the end of each review (with particular reference to Australia where I am in lockdown during the Pandemic),..but they are also available in Hong Kong, London, Paris or New York!

Pieropan Soave Classico DOC 2018

Price; $34.00

Perhaps you can still remember when drinking Soave or Italian white wine in Australia was a thoroughly disappointing experience,.. on account of the wine being dark yellow and oxidized,…due to bad storage,….but that was in the ’80’s and 90’s before the European Wine Boom in Australia,.. that is not the case anymore,.. and this wine really proves my point! I first tasted this wine at the Hong Kong Vinexpo Trade show around 3 years ago,..(and more recently met the same company rep showing his wine at an Italian trade show right here in Sydney) and I was still really excited about it! This wine is a “cracker of a wine,..” with sublime balance and intensity and also minerality,..which I love. The wine has exquisite balance between delicate sweetness and a refreshing acidity-sublime! Soave, in Italian, means gentle, soft, suave – an appropriate name for this small town east of Verona, encircled by the original enclosures of the town and dominated by a 13thcentury fortress. At the heart of the Classico zone is the Pieropan property, which dates back to 1890.Leonardo‘Nino’ Pieropan, who sadly passed away in 2018, was the first to show the world just how great Garganega, and Italian white wine, can be. He recognized the importance of terroir early on, acquiring various hillside vineyards (including Pigno, Becco, Boiolo, Tondo, Palestrello and  La Santa) and expanding the prestigious Calvarino and La Rocca vineyards, first made as single-vineyard crus in 1971 and 1978 respectively.

Tasting Notes: 

DOMAINE TINEL-BLONDELET “ Arret Bufatte” AOC Pouilly Fume 2017

Price $32.00

Domaine Tinel-Blondelet is made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc and is an immensely stylish and complex structured wine with intensity of length and myriad of flavor nuances on the mid-palat. If you enjoy a great Chablis,..or a mature Gruner Veltliner,.then this is for you!

It has won the Gold medal at Concours General Agricole de Paris. .

Tasting Notes :

“Golden Highlights with an aroma of mineral, white flowers and citrus,..a very complex and classy wine .”

This wine is sold predominantly in Fine Dining Restaurants in Victoria and NSW,…however it may also be available from independent Wine Merchants in Sydney and Melbourne.

Sales and Distribution:

Contact Hausler Family Wines

Phone: +61 418 607 366

E-mail: info@hauslerwines.com.au

Contact: Roger Hausler    

E-mail: rhausler60@gmail.com

Masi Campofiorin Ripasso IGT Veneto 2016 

Masi Campofiorin – is now identified as a  Supervenetian (acka SuperTuscan) and such is the development of “winespeak” in the US of A.

This is a fabulous wine and if you haven’t had a Ripasso before You will be in for a nice surprise.

It is made from the Classic Valpolicella Grapes varieties,… Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara from the Veneto, wine region near Verona(the town of Romeo and Juliet)Italy.

Masi are specialists in the production of Amarone, and the semi-drying of the grapes that make this majestic style so sought after. The wine is made using the Masi double fermentation technique where the wine is vinified and then re-fermented with 25% whole, semi-dried grapes. The wine is aged 2/3 in large 90hl Slavonian oak vats and 1/3 in new French and Slavonian oak barrels.

Tasting Notes: 

The wine tastes smooth and easy to drink with great flavor — primarily tart and juicy black cherry, cedar, raisin, licorice and spice. It ends with a long, slightly grippy finish featuring soft tannins and more rich and savory fruit plus lingering spice and tobacco notes. This is a really tasty and seductive wine that shows that the original is still going strong.This wine is also very sexy and should be enjoyed in appropriate circumstances.

Importer:

Web: www.combinedwines.com.au

Retailers/Wine Merchants

Jims Cellars 

Ocean St.,

Woolhara,.NSW

www.jimscellars.com.au

CHATEAU YVONNE “La Folie” Saumur Champigny 2016

Price $36.00

This superb wine is made in Parnaty and is biodynamically farmed and certified organic.La Folie comes from plots in the village of Champigny itself with vines ranging from 15 to 50 years in age. It is Hhand harvested and native yeast fermentation in 50 litre concrete vats for 4 weeks. The wine is then aged for 12 months,.. in half 38 hl foudre and half in 4-5 year old barriques .

The wine is made from 100% Cabernet Franc which is biodynamically farmed and certified organic.  La Folie comes from plots in the village of Champigny itself with vines ranging from 15-50 years in age.  Clay and limestone soils. Hand-harvested. Native yeast fermentation in 50 hl concrete vats for 4 weeks. Aged for 12 months in half 38 hl Foudre and half in 4-5 year old Barriques.  Bottled unfined and unfiltered!

Located in Parnay, Chateau Yvonne has been surrounded by vineyards since the middle ages, when the monks at the Abbaye de Fontevraud brought their influence to the region. The Chateau dates to the 16th century, but not much is known until 1813, when a local winemaker moved in and began producing wine onsite. In 1997, Yvonne and Jean-François Lamunière decided to recreate the abandoned vineyard with the help of Françoise Foucault. In 2007, Matthieu Vallée took over and decided to keep the name Chateau Yvonne in hommage to the incredible work done by the previous owners.

Today the Domaine is one of the best producers in Saumur, composed of 3 hectares of Chenin Blanc and 8 hectares of Cabernet Franc, spread out over 28 small plots in three villages. The vineyards have been farmed organically (Ecocert certified) since 1997 and biodynamically since 2012. Yvonne’s production remains extremely low, averaging only 2000 cs annually.

“All vineyard work here is done manually, and Matthieu makes the wines with as little manipulation as possible: native yeast fermentation, no additions other than SO2, slow malolactic fermentation, minimal racking, and bottling unfined and unfiltered. The dominant soils here are limestone and tuffeau stone but outcroppings of gravel and sandy clay give completely different expressions of Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc.”

Tasting Notes: 

Bottled unfined and unfiltered!

This is a quintessential Cab Franc! “Showing Bay leaf, ripe red fruit, a slight hint of barnyard, on the nose and perfectly ripe tannins on the palate! One comment I read,.. stated that “Château Yvonne has the knack of making utterly drinkable Loire Valley Cabernet Franc.. and I couldn’t agree more! This wine is fleshy and juicy with a delightful texture, and a nice balance between the fruit and the structure,..with minimal oak or tannins on the palate. It has medium acidity and a light to medium body. True to its terroir this Cabernet Franc really represents the region and its characteristics! Juicy Black fruit notes with perceptible green notes and with good length and some focussed minerality give the finish some intensity.  Lots of sediment considering it’s only  54yrs old.

Food Pairing:

It is recommended as a food wine pairing with  Roast beef au jus and any baked Chevre dishes !

Bottled unfined and unfiltered!

This wine is available from one of Melbourne’s leading French wine Importers France Soir 

Contact:

Web:www.francesoirwineselections.com.au/

Mail: wine@france-soir.com.au

CHATEAU PIERRE-BISE “Les Rouannieres” Anjou Villages 2016

This wine produced by a biodynamic producer,..Chateau Pierre Bise was for me the wine of a Loire Valley Trade tasting that I attended even though I was suffering from some ongoing liver problems familiar to the French as “mal au fois” known colloquially as a “crook liver” but this wine was the one  I could not get enough of.m,..somewhat like a natural medicinal tonic and seemed to get me back on the path to recovery! Wine is like that ,..it can have a medicinal effect about it in the physiological  sense,.. and also helps with the lifting of one’s spirits! This wine produced by a biodynamic producer,..“vinous or herbal remedy: ..it was absolutely sublime!

Tasting Notes: 

Palette has ample dark fruits with equal amounts of acidity, it is both refreshing and dark, contributing to an unexpected balance. Soft tannins, forward with medium long  finish of red cherries.“The wine has complex aromas of black plum, red and black currants, cassis, grilled herbs, green tobacco leaf pencil shavings and freshly turned earth.”On the palate the tannins are “fine grained” and polished whilst the addition of 30 % Cabernet Sauvignon not only lends a touch more weight but sweet notes of blackberry and cassis that complement the characteristic Cabernet Franc savoury flavours. Sublime!

It is available from one of Australias leading French Wine Importers Terroir Selections and it can be ordered as follows:

Importer/Distributor & for On-Line sales

“Terroir Selections”

Château Pierre-Bise Rouannieres Anjou Villages sur Spilite 2014

Helen McGahan Sales Manager NSW/ACT

mob: +61 (0)406 162 236

email: helen@terroir-selections.com.au

web: terroir-selections.com.au/

www.cellier.com.au

Price $ 62

The name Cumaro is a tribute to Mount Conero, originally ‘komaros’ in Greek, which means arbutus – an evergreen shrub which grows freely in the Conero woodlands. Aged 12 – 14 months in new and second use Barriques, it is a deep ruby red with an intense bouquet of ripe plum, blackcurrant and morello cherry fruit with hints of spice, black pepper, vanilla and tobacco. The palate is rich and generous with smooth tannins and a long finish.